Blue chips higher

January 31, 1991|By Rueter

NEW YORK -- Blue chip stocks were up in early afternoon trading today as investors hung on to the previous session's huge gains and largely discounted events in the Persian Gulf and worries about the recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 5.69 1.98 points to 2,718.81 at 1:30 p.m. Yesterday the market gained 50.50 points.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange at 1 p.m. was a moderate 112 million shares, while leading issues outnumbered losers by about 4-3.

News that air raid sirens had sounded in Israel trimmed some blue chip gains, but by the time the all-clear was sounded, stocks had recouped losses.

Analysts said shares of software company Lotus Development Corp. rose after the company reported a fourth-quarter loss in line with Wall Street estimates. Its shares were up 1 1/4 to 16 1/2 .